CHARITIES.
In 1367 the Prior of St. Valéry, (fn. 58) as
rector of Isleworth, was said to be bound to distribute two bushels of maslin a week among the poor of
Isleworth, and three quarters of beans and peas on
the first Sunday in Lent to the poor of Heston. His
predecessors had performed these duties from time
out of mind until twenty years before. (fn. 59) There is no
later reference to the custom.
After the Dissolution some of the almshouses
attached to All Angels' Chapel at Brentford End
seem to have been used by the parish of Isleworth. A
number of other almshouses belonged to the parish
in the 17th century, and these are all discussed elsewhere. (fn. 60) In addition, Isleworth was, and is, well
provided with endowed almshouses. Sir Thomas
Ingram, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster,
built six almshouses in Mill Platt which he and his
widow endowed by their wills (dated 1671 and 1676
respectively). Several persons left supplementary
endowments, and in 1822 the six almswomen
received £10 a year each, with coats and gowns. (fn. 61)
The almshouses were thoroughly repaired in 1816
after eighty years of neglect and since then they
appear to have been regularly maintained. They
form one low single-storied range, built of red brick
with a tiled roof. About 1738 Mary Bell built an
almshouse for six women at the east end (then called
Back Lane) of North Street. In her will (dated 1765)
she endowed pensions for the inmates and founded
other charities; by 1822 the whole income from her
bequests (about £55) was used on the almshouses
and almswomen. The houses were given up in 1841
and the site of the old workhouse in Link Lane was
purchased instead. (fn. 62) The workhouse or part of it
was converted into four dwellings and two more
were built beside it. A pair of houses facing these on
the same site was built by subscription in 1862.
All these were being modernized in 1958. Anne
Tolson (later Dash), by deed of 1741 which took
effect after her death, provided for the erection
and endowment of almshouses for six widows or
spinsters and six bachelors. The almshouses were
built in Church Street in 1756. In 1822 the almspeople received nearly £10 each in money every
year, with coals and some clothes. In 1861 the almshouses were rebuilt, partly by subscription. By 1958
they had become very damp and liable to flooding
and were up for sale, though six people were still
living there. (fn. 63) In 1857 John Farnell built a vicarage
and ten almshouses behind the new church of St.
John the Baptist. (fn. 64) The almshouses were thought in
1893 to have been primarily intended for employees
of the brewery. Sarah Sermon built six almshouses
for women on the corner of Twickenham Road and
North Street in 1849 and endowed them a year
later. Elizabeth Butler built two in Byfield Road in
1885, and endowed them in 1886 and in her will
(proved 1904). Samuel Rayment (d. 1903) left
property subject to a life interest to build and endow
almshouses for two married couples. (fn. 65) A pair of
houses was built on the same site as Bell's almshouses
in 1936. (fn. 66) Except for Farnell's, the existing almshouses were administered together in the later 19th
century, when there were some complaints of the
oligarchical character of the board of trustees. It was
also objected that Hounslow people were virtually
excluded from benefit. The fact that most candidates
went to the Established Church was, however,
attributed to their own belief that attendance would
increase their chances of election rather than to
exclusion of dissenters by the trustees. (fn. 67) Farnell's
have continued to be administered separately but by
1958 all the other almshouses formed part of the
Isleworth United Charities, which spent £2,277 on
coal, repairs, and expenses, and £54 10s. on stipends.
Farnell's had an income of £222 and spent £70 on
repairs and gave £50 to the inmates. (fn. 68)
The other endowed charities are correspondingly
numerous and valuable. The first extant one (Martha
Barrett's) was founded in 1584 and a number date
from the 17th century. The income from 'parish
rents' in 1720 was over £80, and in 1822 the 'poor's
lands', which comprised most of the charities apart
from the almshouses, produced nearly £300. (fn. 69) In
1858 the endowed charities, excluding schools, were
said to be worth 5s. for each member of the population. In 1958 the whole income of the United
Charities, including the almshouses, was about
£5,744. In addition to making more conventional
distributions the 19th-century trustees gave a good
deal of help to local schools, both by occasional gifts
for buildings and by yearly grants. (fn. 70) In 1958, apart
from the almshouse payments mentioned above,
about £1,085 were given away in pensions. Among
the donors of charities were Anne, widow of Sir
Richard Wynn, bt. (d. 1649), Lady Cooper of Isleworth House, and several members of the Farnell
family who owned the brewery in the 19th century. (fn. 71)
In 1709 some charity lands were exchanged with
the Duke of Somerset so that he could enlarge the
park of Syon House. (fn. 72) This may have been the
origin of a charity said to have been given by a lord
of the manor of Isleworth Syon. (fn. 73) By 1958 most of
the United Charities' income came from stock, but
they still held some property in Isleworth and elsewhere, including the site of the Porch House by the
church. (fn. 74) Among the lands which had been sold
were the ten acres allotted for the benefit of the
poor at the inclosure of 1818 to compensate them
for their rights of cutting furze, and the four acres
allotted at the same time for the building of a workhouse, which was not needed for that purpose. (fn. 75)
One or two charitable endowments are recorded
in Heston which did not long survive the Middle
Ages. North Hyde Hall was charged, probably in
the late 15th century, (fn. 76) with an obit at which bread,
ale, and cheese were distributed to the poor, the
choir, and the churchwardens, and 2s. from another
acre of land was given each Good Friday to the poor,
with 4d. for the churchwardens. Both these endowments were in existence in 1547 but are not referred
to again. (fn. 77) Another payment made in 1547 was
charged on 14 acres of Groveplace which had been
given to the vicar to provide wafers for the parishioners on Easter Sunday. The vicar was still using
the rents for this purpose in 1561 and possibly about
forty years later. (fn. 78)
Heston has no almshouses, (fn. 79) but it has a number
of charities for the poor, of which the earliest extant
(William Millett's) dates from 1631. Among the
donors were Henry Collins of Hallplace (will dated
1704) and Elisha Biscoe of Spring Grove (will dated
1761). As in Isleworth, allotments for furze-cutting
rights (33 a.) and for a workhouse (4 a.) were made at
the inclosure of 1818. In 1824 most of the charities
were given away in bread. (fn. 80) In 1860 the vestry
decided that the distribution of bread and fuel which
was then customary had a pernicious effect on the
recipients, and resolved to use all the charities to
form fuel and clothing clubs. This seems to have
been done in 1863. The Parochial Charities, as they
were called, had an income of about £1,850 in
1956-7, mostly arising from stock. Of this £790 were
spent on pensions. (fn. 81)
Charities which have not been merged in the
Parochial Charities include eleven founded since
1913 (about £1,490 stock in 1952) for the upkeep of
the churchyard, one founded in 1916 from which
about £160 was given in 1952 in financial and
medical help, and the Westbrook Memorial Institute. (fn. 82) This was opened in 1867 by the widow
of Edward Westbrook (d. 1864) to be a working
men's club. In 1871 she endowed it with furniture,
books, and £1,000 stock. By 1956 it was felt to have
outlived its usefulness, but it was still in existence
in 1958: there were one or two boarders and the
downstair rooms were used for meetings of local
societies, &c. (fn. 83)
Two charities relate to smaller areas than the two
ancient parishes. Emily Cobb (will proved 1919)
left £500 for the poor of St. Stephen's, Hounslow,
and Jane Woods (will proved 1929) left £200 for
those of St. John, Isleworth. (fn. 84)